The Global War

Abstract

This chapter talks about how U.S. anti-drug enforcement achieved a fully global reach in the post-9/11 “Age of Terror.” It refers to opaque anti-drug missions that first piloted in Latin America and then exported to Thailand, Canada, Africa, Europe, and the Middle East, at times without the knowledge or cooperation of the governments concerned. It also provides an overview of a landmark piece of legislation passed by the Congress in 2006 that expanded the scope of American officials' presumptive license abroad, giving U.S. counter-narcotics agents legal standing to pursue narcotics and terrorism crimes committed anywhere in the world. The chapter cites the explosion of cocaine consumption in Europe over the first fifteen years of the twenty-first century as the key motivation for the new legislation in the global war on drugs. It mentions three Malian nationals who had been arrested in their home country by U.S. federal agents and extradited to the United States under the 2006 rule.